Windward Teams Head to Sacramento

The Windward School boys and girls basketball teams are both headed to Sacramento after emerging victorious on Saturday. The teams have encouraged and inspired each other throughout the season and they'll now both play for state crowns on the same court.

The boys squad completed the school sweep by knocking off top-seeded Westlake Village Oaks Christian 58-52 in the Southern California Regional Division IV final Saturday night at Colony High in Ontario. The girls upset La Jolla Country Day in the preceding game 68-58 to earn their trip north.

"In the fourth quarter, it's do or die so that's when you have to come out and play your best," said freshman guard Jordin Canada, who had 14 points, five assists and five steals in the girls' convincing victory. "It's all about the team. I took some bad shots earlier in the game and I wanted to make up for them."

Sophomore guard Courtney Jaco led the way for the second-seeded Wildcats (28-4) with 18 points, junior guard-forward Paris Baird had 13 points and 6' 7" junior forward Imani Stafford added nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Stafford was nit with the team in December and Country Day beat Windward twice in tournaments without her.    

"That was huge having [Stafford] back, but also we were inexperienced then and our freshmen were still learning the system and I was learning how to coach them," Windward Coach Steve Smith said. "Tonight we finally had our whole arsenal."

Smith said Stafford's mere presence on the floor makes Windward a better, more balanced team. 

"Our scoring average has gone way up and we're 19-0 since she came back," he said. "When you have a 6' 7" player in there, they have to pay attention to that. They were doubling her and it forced them to have to make a choice of leaving other players open or trying to guard her one-one-one. That made it easier for us to get quality shots."

Top-seeded Country Day (27-5) led 46-44 going into the fourth quarter but the Wildcats scored eight unanswered points in the first minute to take a 52-46 lead. Windward outscored the Torreys 19-4 in the first four minutes of the fourth and sealed the victory on Canada's steal and layup for a 61-51 lead with 2:51 left.

"We've played this season in memory of Dan Tan, who played for the boys team and graduated in 2008," Smith said. "He died January 12, so it would be huge if both teams can win state for him."

The boys squad did its part less than two hours later, taking a 15-7 first-quarter lead and never relinquishing it. Nick Stover scored 16 points, Charles Dawson had eight points and Wesley Saunders added eight points, nine rebounds, six steals and three blocks for the second-seeded Wildcats (26-8), who beat Oaks Christian by 19 points in a nonleague game earlier in the season.

"The four keys tonight were getting off to a fast start, making our free throws, controlling the boards and not turning the ball over," Windward Coach Miguel Villegas said. "I thought we did a pretty good job in all of those areas. We're definitely excited. We wanted to replicate what the girls did."

Windward converted 25 of its 33 free throw attempts and committed only six turnovers. The Lions (26-8) pulled to within 42-41 on a three-pointer by Blair Holliday with 5:49 left, but Saunders took over from there.

The 6' 6" senior power forward answered with a three-point play on the next possession, made a steal in the paint with 1:25 remaining and with Windward ahead 52-47, blocked a layup attempt by Oaks Christian's Chass Bryan with one minute left and the Wildcats leading 53-47.

Jordan Wilson's steal and layup with 35 seconds left clinched the victory.

"We just stayed focused and did the things that got us here," Saunders said. "They made a good run in the second half and knocked down shots. We knew they would at some point."

After the boys lost in the Southern Section finals to Orange Lutheran, Saunders remained confident his team could reach the state finals along with the girls.

"Them winning is definitely added motivation," Saunders said. "It's competition, sure. We don't talk about it but we know it's there. We just try to match what they do."

The girls and boys will again play back-to-back  Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion (formerly known as Arco Arena) in Sacramento. The girls tip off first against Albany St. Mary's at 9:30 a.m., immediately followed by the boys' game against Richmond Salesian.